A rose by any other name will still be a rose. The same goes for Awliya ALLAH- the friends of ALLAH- who are recognized through their qualities during the period they are on this earth and after their departure into the Heavenly realms. It is these qualities that make them stand out from the crowd and it is THESE very qualities that ALLAH (SWT) in HIS Wisdom and Mercy commands us humans to keep company with; ALLAH mentions in the Quran
التَّائِبُونَ الْعَابِدُونَ الْحَامِدُونَ السَّائِحُونَ الرَّاكِعُونَ السَّاجِدُونَ الآمِرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّاهُونَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَالْحَافِظُونَ لِحُدُودِ اللّهِ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
(Triumphant) are those who turn repentant (to ALLAH), those who serve (HIM), those who praise (HIM), those who fast, those who bow down, those who fall prostrate (in worship),
those who enjoin the right and who forbid the wrong and those who keep the limits (ordained ) of ALLAH- And give glad tidings to the believers!
(Surah Tawbah, Verse 112)
Indeed- these qualities are defining of a Wali of ALLAH- whose life is pure submission to ALLAH's Will and is lived as per the Sunnah of the blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Such are the ones whose lives are blessed with Qurbat-e-Ilaahi and ishq-e-rasool (SallALLAHu alaihi we aalihi wassallam) and these are the blessed ones that we are to keep company with as mentioned by the blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him):
“The example of a good companion and a bad companion is like that of the seller of musk, and the one who blows the blacksmith’s bellows.. So as for the seller of musk then either he will grant you some, or you buy some from him, or at least you enjoy a pleasant smell from him. As for the one who blows the blacksmith’s bellows then either he will burn your clothes or you will get an offensive smell from him.” - (Bukhari & Muslim)
Wiladat
The auspicious birth of Qudwatul-salikeen, Zubdatul aarifeen took place in the year 1170 Hijri in Sarbhanna, district Abbottabad.
Noble Lineage
Qudwatul saalikeen, Zubdatul aarifeen- Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was the son of Imam-ul-fuqara - Sayyed-ul-Waasileen- Hadrath Peer Syed Faqeer Shah Wali Muhaddith (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu).
Hazrat Syed Faqeer Shah Wali (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu) had been blessed with three sons- they were Hazrat Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah, Hazrat Syed Chand Pir Shah, and Hazrat Syed Wilayat Shah (Radi ALLAHu taa'ala anhum ajmaeen)
His blessed father - Peer Syed Faqeer Shah Muhaddis was "kaamil" in salasil Suhurwardi, Owaisi and Shadhili.The shrine of his blessed father- Peer Syed Faqeer Shah Wali Muhaddith (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez) is situated in Baeen Gojri, district Abbottabad, where the Urs Mubarak of this blessed personality is celebrated annually. His shrine is said to be a reprieve for people facing any kinds of difficulties or problems. It is said of his noble father that just looking at him- a person would start doing "zikr"! He was a renowned scholar in the field of Ilm-e-Hadith. He had a lot of literary accomplishments to his credit. There were also two books that he had translated into Farsi (Persian) namely: Tadriburave and Nukhbatul fikr.
Another noble and a distinguished spiritual personality in the lineage was Peer Syed Abdu-r-rahman Shah also known as Bulbul Shah. His name was Syed Sheriff-u-din Abdul Rehman but he was often referred to with his title of Syed Bilal. Often his title used to get interchanged with Bulbul instead of Bilal and he became known to all as Bulbul Shah or Bulbul-e-Kashmir. Another reason for him being called "bulbul" was out of intense love for the saint as 'bulbul' means 'nightingale'- hence, he was lovingly referred to as "nightingale of Kashmir". He was also referred to as "Amir-e-Kashmir" and "Baadshah-e-Kashmir"
He was a saint of the highest spiritual order who traveled from Turkistan and settled in Kashmir around 1324 AD (725 AH). It is said in the books if history that he arrived in Kashmir along with 1000 refugees- who were escaping the Mongols. This was the time when Kashmir was ruled by a Buddhist ruler called Ranchan Shah. Ranchan Shah was a seeker of truth and none of the faiths present at that time- including Buddhism and Hinduism could satiate his thirst for the truth. But this all changed when he gained audience with Syed Bulbul Shah and was left with a deep impression and mark on his soul. He professed faith on the hands of Syed Bulbul Shah and started learning the teachings of Islam from his precepts and actions. He changed his name from Ranchan Shah to Sultan Sadar-ud-din and along with him thousands of his followers also converted to Islam.
Sultan Sadar-ud-din (Ranchan Shah) contributed greatly to the propagation of Islam during the time of Syed Bulbul Shah (Radi ALLAHu ta'aala anhu) by ordering construction of various masjid's and other buildings which are only present now in the books of history. He also ordered the construction of a house which came to be known as Khanqah-e-Bulbul Shah which formerly stood in the Muhalla Bulbul. His son Khwaja Hyder preferred the Sufi way of life to kingship.
Other prominent nobles who also turned to Islam under the influence of this great spiritual personality included the commander of the Kashmir forces- Ravan Chandra.
Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was a great scholar who was a man of letters and a theologian. Besides, he had reached the pinnacle of love in his spiritual learning. He illuminated the darkness of the hearts with the torch of faith and the light of monotheism and devotion to ALLAH (SWT).
Out of countless spiritual miracles attached to him- one of them was that when once it grew very cold in Kashmir and the water in River Jhelum froze. The people started suffering for want of water. Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) went in search for water and saw the River Jhelum frozen rock solid. He looked at the sky and asked, "Where is the sun to melt the snow from its heat?". It is mentioned in books of history that the sun rose and the water melted!
He was a wonderful and impressive personality whose words were always truthful. He passed away on the 7th of Rajab, 727 AH (1326 AD).As per research conducted by scholars and historians, it is said that Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was accompanied by other pious saints particularly Bulbul Kamal-ud-din, whose grave is between Chakoti and Uri road and Bulbul Jalal-ud-din whose grave is between Harwan Buddhist Monastery and Nishat garden and Hadrat Kamal Sahib who was buried just outside the palace of King Renzu Shah (Ranchan). The palace of the King is presently constructed as a college and a new Women's college building has been converted at the ancestral site, whilst the graves of both Syed Bulbul Shah and Sultan Sadar-ud-din are located at Bulbul Lankar Nawa Kadal, on the other side of the Palace. The holy shrine of Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) is the first muslim sufi shrine of Kashmir which has deeply influenced Kashmir unto Kashgar.
Often there is a disagreement as to whether Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez) was the 1st sufi saint in the valley of Kashmir or not as there are conflicting reports that another saint by the name of Hadrat Ameer Kabeer Syed Shah Hamdan (Rahmatullah alaih) was the 1st sufi saint to enter the valley of Kashmir. But this is totally wrong as it is mentioned in the books of history that during the reign of King Taimoor in India- he exiled a saint- Hadrat Ameer Kabeer Syed Shah Hamdan (Rahmatullah Alaih) from the country and he took refuge in a masjid saying that he has taken refuge in the house of ALLAH. But the tyrant king was not satisfied and asked him to leave even the masjid. Hence, he left for wadi of Kashmir in Srinagar where the murideen of Hadrat Syed Abdu-r-rahman Shah also known as Syed Bulbul Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) welcomed him on his arrival hence totally negating the doubt that Hadrat Ameer Kabeer Syed Shah Hamdan (Rahmatullah alaih) was the 1st sufi saint to enter the Valley of Kashmir.
Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez)'s blessed lineage is as follows:
Qudwatul Awliya Naqeeb-us-Sa’adat As-Sayed Mahboob Ali Shah (RA) s/o
Syyed-ul-fuqaara, Imam-ul-waasileen Syed Faqeer Shah Wali Muhaddis (RA) s/o
Imam-ul-Muhaddiseen Sanad-ul-waasileen As-Sayed Nawab Shah Muhaddis (RA) s/o
Hafiz-ul-kitaabi was-sunnah As-Sayed Hafiz Umar Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Mahboob Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Kabeer Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Ma’mur Shah also known as Syed Baqir Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Aalam Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Shahyaar Muhammad (RA) s/o
Syed Faqeer Shah Muhammad Qutb (RA) s/o
Syed Rahmatullah Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Mahmood Muhaddis (RA) s/o
Syed Zain-ul-Abideen (RA) s/o
Syed Naseer-ud-deen also known as Syed Obaid (RA) s/o
Syed Ali Sher Ibrahim (RA) s/o
Syed Abdul Kareem (RA) s/o
Syed Wajih-ud-deen (RA) s/o
Syed Wali-ud-deen also known as Syed Fathu-d-deen (RA) s/o
Syed Muhammad Ghaazi at-thaani (RA) s/o
Syed Sultan Raza-ud-deen also known as Syed Riaz-ud-deen (RA) s/o
Syed Sultan Sadruddin also known as Syed Abdul Wahab (RA) s/o
Syed Sultan Muhammad Ahmad Sabiq (RA) s/o
Syed Hussain Al-Mashhad (ruler of Ajmer-Khangsawar) (RA) s/o
Syed Sultan Ali Abdulla (Ruler of Balkh & balband) (RA) s/o
Syed Abdur-rahman Shah also known as Syed Bulbul Shah (RA) s/o
Syed Ishaque Saani (RA) s/o
Syed Muhammad Aalam (RA) s/o
Syed Abdulla Qassim (RA) s/o
Syed Muhammad Awwal (RA) s/o
Syed Ishaque-ul-Muwwaffiq (RA) s/o
Syed Imam Musa Kaazim (RA) s/o
Syed Imam Jafar-as-Sadiq (RA) s/o
Syed Imam Muhammad Baqir (RA) s/o
Syed Imam Ali Zain-ul-Abideen (RA) s/o
Syed Imam-us-Shuhadaa Imam Hussain (AS) s/o
Syyeda Fatima-tuz-Zahra (RA) - the beloved and noble daughter of
ALLAH’s Perfect Creation- The Leader of All Worlds- Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Blessed family life
He was affectionately called as "Shahjahan" by his family. Spiritually he was titled as Syed Hassan but also known as "Sohne Sayyed" amongst the people due to his love and intense affiliation with ALLAH and HIS Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
He entered the blessed union of Nikah (Marriage) twice. From his first blessed union- ALLAH (SWT) endowed him with 2 sons namely,
Hadrat Peer Syed Ali Akbar Shah Kazmi Hanafi Chishti and
Hadrat Peer Syed Ahmad Shah Hanafi Kazmi Chishti (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhum ajmaeen)
From his second blessed union- he was endowed with 4 sons and 3 daughters namely,
Hadrat Abu Naeem Peer Syed Abdul Qazi Muhaddis Hazarvi,
Hadrat Peer Syed Gazi Shah,
Hadrat Abul Aziz Peer Syed Mahram Shah and
Sahib-e-salasil-e-arba'a (master of 4 salasil and having ijaazah in 17 sub-salaasil), Sajjada-e-nasheen of Khanka Mahboobabad Shareef in Havelian, Sheikh-ul-islam Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddis Hazarvi (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhum ajmaeen).
Arrival in Havelian
Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Radi ALLAHu ta'aala anhu) travelled a lot in the mission of propagating Islam and spreading the love of ALLAH & HIS Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
During his travels- he and his parents settled in Baeen Gojri and started propagating the teachings of Islam from there.
During his time in Baeen Gojri, he continued with his travels and in his mission of spreading love and teachings of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). During this time- he also travelled to Solhan in the region of Tanawar where he settled for a few years.
In1890- he came to Havelian for the first time during his travels. At that time- it was an unpopulated place. He returned to Solhan but as per the wishes of HIS Creator- he returned to Havelian in 1902 where he purchased a plot and built a shrine and also laid the foundation of a Masjid, hence settling there permanently.
There was no prior settlement in that area before his arrival and through his blessed presence - ALLAH made this once uninhabited place populous and hence, the place was named after him- Mahboobabad- where his shrine is till to-date.
The noble personage of an Awliya ALLAH
The personality of a wali of ALLAH is reflected not only in his talk but in his actions and mannerisms. Hence, it has been commanded for us by the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to keep company with the wali's of ALLAH so that their mannerisms and behavior will be rubbed off on us. In fact, in sitting with such noble personalities is a blessing in itself since their every act and move is aimed at achieving pleasure of The Creator.
His personality was as such that his lectures used to attract countless people to not only listen in but to convert and profess their faith. Many an occasion - misguided "so-called Peers/Sheikhs"- on listening to him- used to repent "do tawbah" on his hands for their actions.
Whole nights used to go in dissipating ilm (knowledge) about the Holy Quran and the Hadith to various mureeds- as Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was endowed with an astonishing retentive memory!
Wherever he would sit- throngs of people would sit in for his lectures and gain "faiz" from his self & his teachings. He always advised his mureed to at-least memorise 40 Hadiths.
In a very famous Hadith- the blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has said that ALLAH mentions that " A servant becomes closer to ALLAH by a supererogatory deed as ALLAH loves a supererogatory deed. HE becomes so close to HIS Servant that HE becomes their eyes through which they see, their ears through which they hear, their tongues from which they speak & their legs from which they walk."
Indeed- when ALLAH blesses someone with HIS Love & Mercy- there is nothing greater than that & this was shown in the persona of Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa siruhul azeez).
His intelligence was not limited to text-book variety but was vast enough to include an astute knowledge of tactical warfare and battle-strategies especially those relating to "surprise attacks" and was considered as a master by all.
Besides being blessed acumen-wise - he was also blessed physically which was shown by his love and expertise of the sports of wrestling (which is also a sunnah), sword-fighting and horse-back riding.
His bravery and boldness was accepted and much-talked about and several incidents of extra-ordinary courage and bravery were attached to him. One such incident was when he fought and killed a tiger!
Along-with bravery was a humbleness and modesty which was shown through his worship throughout the nights during which his "cries of Tawbah" in fear and love of his Creator was witnessed by many.
He was also blessed with a beautiful voice and whenever he would be immersed in the recitation of the Holy Quran- his listeners used to compare his voice to the Lahn (style) of Prophet Dawood (Alaihis salam) on whom ALLAH had bestowed a beautiful voice.
He always travelled on horseback and had two white horses always ready for his travel needs.
He liked listening to Qawwali- a prose form- which included Glorifications of ALLAH (SWT) and praises of HIS blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) WITHOUT any musical accompaniments.
He was a very generous soul in his giving, humble in his behavior, modest in his approach and always in fear of his Creator. The last behavior was apparent in his tying a turban which was 18 meters long and the reason behind it was that the same turban would double as a "Kafan" shroud-cloth on his death whenever and wherever it may be!
Spiritual savoir faire
It is an oft-quoted fact that whoever used to glance at him- they would start reciting “durood sharif”. His holy shrine is located in Havelian shareef in the District of Abbottabad. The Urs Mubarak of this blessed personality is celebrated annually in the month of June on the 2nd Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is said that the ziyarat (visit) of his Holy Shrine is a reprieve for any troubles or problems that a person is experiencing and this has been attested to by various groups of people.
He was blessed with righteousness and taqwa and used to spend his time in "chilla" (meditation).
He was very particular about upholding Shariya (Islamic law)and he often maintained friendship with Ulama and Fuqahaa.
He had full command of Qaseeda-e-Ghousia and Naad-e-Ali which he used to recite to perform various Karaamaat (Spiritual exercises/Miracles).
He disliked spending his time idly in Bazaars/ Souqs or in idle-talk. Wherever he went- he always had a group of 50 people with him who used to practice the zikr in loud voices and the whole area used to resonate with the sound of Zikr-e-ilaahi.
He was privileged to spend 12 years in Baghdad Shareef in the blessed darbar sharif of Sultan-ul-awliya Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) and taught and lectured on ilm-e-hadith for the duration of his stay.
One of his well-known Khalifa's by the name of Hadrat Maykhband Baba of Swat (Radi ALLAHu ta'aala anhu) passed away into the heavenly realms at the astonishing age of 160 years. He was a well-known spiritual personality and he, himself had stated on various occasions that he had in his sittings with Huzoor Sahab -seen thousands of Jinns- who were his mureed( followers) who not only listened to him but also learnt the Quran from him. They also used to follow him in Zikr-e-Ilaahi. But, Hadrat Sahab NEVER accepted any kind of offerings or hadiya from the community of Jinns.
He always preached love & respect of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and that was the fundamental aspect of all of his teachings.
Virtuosity in Pedagogic fields
Qudwatul Awliya Naqeeb-us-sadaat was a renowned scholar not only in the field of Ilm-e-Hadith but also au courant with Quran and its tafseer, in ilm-e-Fiqh and especially in Fiqh-e-Hanafi and was also considered a virtuoso in Ilm-e-tabeer (interpretation of dreams) and Ilm-e-ansaab (genealogy).
Due to his powerful retentive memory- he had memorized the Quran, ahadith and fiqh-e-Hanafi and was renowned for that.
In fact no one could take a candle to his knowledge of history.
He witnessed the era of Durrani's, Sikh's and the Westerners. With his exposure to different cultures and settlements- he became a master in the Eastern medical sciences (homeopathic).
His mastery and knowledge of ilm-e-Hadith was apparent in the fact that he, himself was a "raavi" (narrator) and there were 270 Hadiths where the chain of narrations would start from the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and end on him.
With memorization of the Holy Quran- he also undertook to write the whole Quran by hand using the calligraphic style of writing.
Hazrat Maykhband Baba of Swat (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu) who passed away at the age of 160 years was one of the Khalifa's of Sheikh-ul-Islam Hazrat Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu).
He had the pleasure of staying with Sheikh-ul-Islam Hazrat Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu) in Baghdad Shareef for 12 blessed years at the Holy Shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu). During this course of time- he used to give lectures on Ilm-e-Hadith in the blessed court of Sultan-ul-awliya,Baaz-al-ashhaab- Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez).
Hazrat Maykhband Baba of Swat (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu) has shown various books that were written by Huzoor himself which also included a Quran that was translated in Farsi (Persian Language) - which he later presented it to his noble son- Hazrat Peer Syed Mahmood Shah (Radi ALLAHu ta'ala anhu).
He had also written a book of commentary on "Awaarif-ul-ma'arif" which was published in Baghdad. He also wrote poetry in the languages of Arabic and Persian which were very rich in meaning. All of his literary works were written in praise of ALLAH (SWT) and the blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Possession of Khilafat of Spiritual Orders
Qudwatul-salikeen, Zubdatul Aarifeen Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was a "kaamil" (complete) Sheikh in all the salaasils (Spiritual orders). He had done bayah from his noble and pious father in the spiritual order.
Khwaja Allabaksh Tausvi (Radi ALLAHu ta'aala anhu) bestowed Khilafat of Chistiya Nizamiya silsila on him.
His mureed (disciples) are in great number and are present in many parts of the world such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Kashmir amongst others.
He, in turn has also bestowed Khilafat on many of his mureeds so as to spread the "faiz" of his spiritual works in order to spread the love and respect of ALLAH's Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Karamaats (Spiritual Miracles)
Though a wali's biggest karamaat is his/her complete submission to ALLAH's Will- yet many wondrous feats and happenings are attributed to a wali ALLAH through HIS Mercy and Power.
Shiekh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) was recognized as a Qutb of his time and hence also had many "karamaat" to his name.
One of his many spiritual miracles was that just by his presence, diseased or sick animals in rural areas used to get cured.
Also, it has been mentioned by many of his mureed's - that if there was ever an epidemic in some areas and an increase of death in human's and live-stock- Hadrat Sahab used to recite Surah Tagabun and during its recitation- he used to place the Holy Quran in a green Chaddor and place it on a height such that humans and livestock could pass under it and they would be cured through the barakah of ALLAH (SWT).
He was also blessed by ALLAH (SWT) that by simply looking at a place- he could tell how deep the water-site was and how wide under-ground!!
HIs karamaat was not limited to others but also on his own self and this was attributed by the fact that on two different occasions- his hair turned black from white and also on two occasions- his teeth grew back!
His eye-sight throughout his long, blessed life was very good and hence,he never wore glasses and this has been reported from his son to his grand-son who is the current Sajjada Nasheen of Khanka Mahboobabad in Havelian Shareef.
The love of ALLAH (SWT) with HIS chosen slaves is such that people derive benefit from them NOT only in their life-times but also after their passing away into the heavenly realms and this was the same for Qudwatul Awliya Peer Syed Mahboob Ali Shah (Quddisa sirruhul azeez).
His blessed shrine is said to be a reprieve for any troubles or problems. In fact if a person is possessed by a Jinn- just visiting his blessed shrine is enough for the Jinn to leave the person!
Another karamaat of his blessed shrine is that if anyone reads the Quran next to his grave-side, ALLAH (SWT) increases the reciter's memory to such an extent so that memorizing the whole Quran in a short period of time is easy for the person irrespective of his/her retention level.
Above are just a few of his karamaat's that has been witnessed by countless of his mureed's.
Crossing to the Heavenly abode
The above-mentioned karamaat along-with a detailed biography of this blessed persona has been written by Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddis Hazarvi (Rahmatullah alaih) in his book- Jami-ul-khairaat.
Also, Allama Mian Zahir Shah has also discussed about him in detail in his book- "tazkira Hakeem-e-millat".
And Muhaqqiq (researcher) Farzand Ali Qadri has discussed him in detail in his books such as "seerat-e-Muhaddis Hazarvi", "Rooh-ul-ma'arif", "Bustaan-e-Wilayat".
He passed away into the heavenly realms on the 8th of Ramadan-ul-mubarak on a Saturday after Salat-ul-dhuhr, 1356 hijri corresponding date as per Gregorion calendar- 13th November,1936.
The last word uttered by the blessed soul was ALLAH!!
As per his family- he passed away into the heavenly realms at the incredible age of 186 but as per researchers- his blessed age was 200 years old- one of them was Hadrat Sheikh Maykhband Baba of Swat (Radi ALLAHu ta'aala anhu) who was also one of his Khalifa's.
His shrine is located in Havelian Shareef, Abbottabad. After his passing away into the heavenly realms- his son- Hadrat Abu Naeem Peer Syed Abdul Qazi Muhaddis Hazarvi (Rahmatullah alaih) was the 1st Sajjada-nasheen of the blessed shrine - Khanka Mahboobabad. He, himself was a scholastic genius who left an indelible mark in the fields of academia and Spirituality. He had authored various books in Fiqh, Hadith and Islamic history. Besides being blessed at an intellectual level- he was also a renowned Hakeem (doctor in natural medicine). Many wondrous miracles are attributed to him. It is a well-known fact amongst his followers (mureed) that whatever he used to say, it happened by the Grace of Almighty ALLAH!
His lectures and speeches were so popular and compelling that he was lovingly called as "waaz waale baaji" (Syed of Lectures).
He also authored a book on the topic of "nikah-e-Sayyeda" (Marriage of a Sayyeda) called "an-nazaair" -which describes in detail as to why the marriage of a Sayyeda is not allowed to a Ghair-Sayyed and is 'haram' in the light of Quran, Sunnah and Fiqh-e-Hanafi.
He passed away in the year 1952 at the remarkable age of 100 years.
He was succeeded by his brother- Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddith Hazarvi (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez) who became the 2nd Sajjada nasheen of Khanka Mahboobabad. He was a great spiritual personality whose essence still lingers on in so many people's lives as he was blessed by ALLAH (SWT) to have such a deep and a meaningful impact through not only his words but by his mere presence!
Besides being a preeminent authority in the fields of academia and spirituality, he also like others in his family a well-known Hakeem (doctor in natural medicine). His speeches were so significant and meaningful and were said in such a way that the listener always adhered to what was said!!
Belonging to a family of great spiritual personalities spanning over a period of 800 years- where almost each and every one was a significant contributor to the spread of the message of Islam- yet the contribution of Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddith Hazarvi (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) to the spread of the message of Islam and the teachings of the blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is VERY NOTABLE indeed! He, singularly has authored 1002 books in his blessed life-time that also included an extra-ordinary translation of the Holy Quran- named as "Dastoor-e-Haqq". On the topic of "marriage of a Sayyeda to a ghair-Syed"- he has written almost 60 books dealing with this important topic with complete references from the Quran and the Sunnah.
He also played a key role in the freedom movement of segregation of Pakistan and India along-with father of the nation of Pakistan- Quaid-e-azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He also played a pivotal role in abolishing the stance of the Ahmadiyya movement in Pakistan when he confronted the head of the Qaidianis in Pakistan- Mirza Tahir and this he did by simply posing 1 question to Mirza Tahir Qaidiani which he could not reply to and he left Pakistan altogether!
He also founded the Khilafat Movement that calls for a Sharia'h based Government system and laid down 10 points in accordance with that which were presented to the participants of The Islamic Summit in Feb 1974 at Lahore.
He passed away at the astounding age of 120 years on the 1st of Rajab during Fajr prayers, 1413 AH. His Urs mubarak is celebrated annually on the 24th and the 25th of December.
He was succeeded by his son- the 3rd and the current Sajjada Nasheen of Khanka Mahboobabad, Havelian Shareef- Mufakkir-e-Islam Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob Hanafi Qadri. He- like his forefathers - has been blessed by ALLAH (SWT) in the field of academics and Spirituality. In fact his birth was foretold by the then custodian of the blessed Shrine of Sultan-ul-Awliya Sheikh Abdul Qader Jilani (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez) who had sent to his noble father- Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddith Hazarvi (Quddisa sirruhul azeez) the name to be kept which was shown in a spiritual dream directly by Sultan-ul-Awliya Sheikh Abdul Qader Jilani (Quddisa Sirruhul azeez)! Hence, he was name "Mohyuddin" after the great saint- which means - 'Reviver of faith'.
Keeping to the meaning in his name and the foot-steps of his pious and celebrated ancestors- Mufakkir-e-Islam Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob Hanafi Qadri- has travelled to more than 80 countries to spread the peaceful message of Islam and teaching of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)! He has dedicated his life to continue the mission of his forefathers. He graduated from Punjab University with an Honor's in Arabic and obtained a Master's in Islamiyaat. He has also studied dars-e-Nizami, Aloom-u-deen and Shariah at Al-Azhar University in Egypt.
He was taught Kashf-ul-Mahjoob, Aawaruf-ul-maa'rif, Majma Salat-ur-rasool , Diwan-e-Ali, fusus-ul-Hakim and Futuhat-al-Makkiya as part of the studies of Mysticism under the direction of his pious father.
Hadrat Syed Abdul Rauf- trustee of the Shrine of hardhat Khwaja Moin-ud-deen Chishti Ajmeri bestowed on him the Khilafat of the Chishtia School of Mysticism.
In spite of his frequent travels and spiritual practices and teachings- he has still managed to author 30 books notable amongst them are Irfan-e-deen-e-Haqq, Taa'ruf-al-tajweed, Misbah-ud-din, Taleem-o-tehseen-e- bandage, Umda-tul-Wazaif and a translation of Jamia-us-sagheer.
His book Irfan-e-deen-Haqq, is a collection of answers to questions posed to him at an International Summit in Germany which gained notable popularity so much so that the Government of Pakistan to show their appreciation included his name in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan.
Keeping the legacy of his forefathers alive-he has also established the Mahmoodia Qadria Education Welfare Trust and the Mahboob Public school where students from across the world come to learn disciplines such as Islamic Studies and Shariah along with the studies of Science and computing as well. Free education is also provided to those who are not able to pay.
He was also instrumental in the formation of the Pakistan Mashaikh Council- a first of its kind entity- which included notable Sufi saints from all regions of Pakistan to come together to fight the bad elements of society who are defaming the name of Islam and its true meaning through cowardice means such as "suicide attacks".
He is currently the President of the Pakistan Mashaikh Council. Besides this-he has also been spreading the peaceful message of Islam through electronic and paper media where he dissipates religious knowledge to all parts of the world.
The website of the Khanka Mahboobabad is : www.mehmoodi.org- which contains valuable and regular updates of the happenings and events in the Khanka including gatherings of Zikr and also various speech and texts of his new and up-coming books.
A monthly magazine is also managed by Mufakkir-e-Islam known as 'Khabar-nama-e-khilafat'- which contains articles in both languages of Urdu and English. Through this magazine- Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob also manages a Q & A section where he answers to various questions relating to all fields of life including questions of Fiqh, tafseer and other Islamic sciences.
Besides this - he also keeps in touch with his mureed and answers to questions posed by non-muslims and also scholars on his Face-book profile page: Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob.
With the recent blasphemous acts done against the dignity of the Perfect of All Creations- Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)- Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob launched a rally aptly titled "azmat-e-Mustaf-kareem rally" on the 23rd of May in Havelian Shareef which was attended by thousands of supporters.
He also gives fatwas on various day-to-day events and happenings around the world including a strongly-worded fatwa condemning all suicide attacks as "un-islamic" and declaring such people as 'apostates'. Because the killing of muslims and innocent non-muslims goes against the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) .With the recent string of suicide attacks- Peer Syed Mohyuddin Mahboob organized conferences in various cities and brought together various influential Ulama and custodians of famous Holy Shrines across the country to publicly censure such cowardice attacks.
He also has lent his expertise to financial institutions (Public and private) in matters relating to Islamic Finance. He has given countless lectures all over the world.
Continuing with his social work- he has opened up spiritual educational centers in various cities in Pakistan such as Haripur, Taxla, Lahore, Karachi, Jhellum, Gujarat and also in other parts of the world such as Germany, France, Italy, UK, Greece, Bosnia among others. These spiritual educational centers are instrumental in spreading the teachings of Islam in those societies and the teachings offered there are knowledge on Quran, Hadith, Fiqh and spirituality. Weekly gatherings of Zikr also take place there.
He is a true and worthy successor of his great ancestors. From his blessed union of marriage - he is blessed with 5 noble sons- who are gaining not only Islamic and spiritual education on the hands of their noble, pious father but also are gaining worldly education at top universities such as Aitchison College and Chaand Bagh.
May ALLAH bless mufakkir-e-Islam and his blessed sons from the perfumed garden of Sheikh-ul-Islam Peer Syed Mahmood Shah Muhaddis Hazarvi ever-flourishing and on the path of righteousness always. Ameen.
